A Sense Of Place

I have been a close-up lover, but since you mentioned the background and how it shows more of our lives, I have been taking a closer look at OLD photos . . . and REALLY appreciating the backgrounds. OMG! The ugly furniture! the ostentatious lamps! What great fun!

Well that is just precious, I would have let them both stay up all night LOL

I love that photo- you're so right! I recently found an old picture of my room growing up as a kid, and I stared at every inch of that photo. I had never seen it before, and I had forgotten so many things in that room. Such a great reminder!

That is a very cute photo. I love the idea of including a little bit of the surroundings in photos too - just like you I love to look back on photos like this of my childhood. The first ever photo I have of my Nan and I - I was screaming my lungs out, she was in her nightgown and in the background were a heap of messy boxes. I love that I'm not the only one with messy boxes around!

I just finished a layout too. It features some pictures my Grandma took of my messy room when I was about 12 or so. They were supposed to be the "before" shots... she never did get to take any "after" shots! LOL Anyway, when I started writing about those photos I noticed all the STUFF in there (hard to ignore! lol) and it just developed into this long list of what I saw in the photo, and sometimes there was a story behind some piece or another. At the end I had to admit that I wish I had MORE pictures of my messy child room and the things that are long since gone!

This one really touched me Ali and takes me back to the days when my adult sons were so small. Those photos of life back in England DO make me think or say...remember the green walls? the heavy heavy drapes that still let the wind in? your Dad's 70s mustache? I need to find some of those photos! perfect for Y&T.

This is great black and white - sometimes all the color takes away from it all. Love your dog on his bed in the background. I get so involved w/ my kids that I forget to take pictures of my pets at times. Your dog looks like he was just sitting there listening to their stories. :)

Amazing photo. looks so peaceful, calm, happy.

Hi Ali, great photo & I love the story. Did you take this picture in black & white, or did you edit it after?
thanks for sharing!

Love this picture. Ever since I start this amazing hobby-passion, I just couldn't being myself to cut up photos because I just loved everything in the picture. So way too many pages in my albums but I don't regret it. To me its all the bits of life that make the memory. Thanks for sharing Ali.

I´m very careful not to cut out the surroundings in all photos. Like you said, having the rooms and other views in photos is so nice, especially when you come some years down the lane. Thanks for always sharing all those small but so important thoughts.

You have NO idea how much I needed this post today...this week. My life is so hectic right now--new baby who is extremely high maintenence after a very difficult pregnancy; 5 year old chatterbox who likes lots of attention and was "neglected" during said difficult pregnancy--that I've let a lot of things go. Yet, I want to capture our life as it is now. I've gotten in the habit of taking super close up pictures to avoid seeing all the clutter {absolute mess} that is our life. But one day, I'll want to look back and remember that. Remember cleaning off a tiny portion of the table to make Valentine's Day cards. Remember the bottles and formula containers on the kitchen counter. Remember the multiple baby/kid shampoo bottles (full and empty) on the side of the tub.

Thank you for pushing me out of my avoidance and into a place that will help me remember. These days are a fog--one day I will laugh about the mess and wonder why in the world I was concerned about it!

hi ali! Karen Russell touched on this idea this week in class! And your thoughts are reinforcing what i learned. I tend to GET IN MY KIDS FACES with the camera!! You are inspiring me to back it up a bit and include life. Even if i hate the carpet, or their's laundry, or whatever.... it's what i want to remember (and i can always change to B&W right? ha).

That is a beautiful picture. How wonderful they stayed put. It is perfect in black and white, so classic. Thanks for reminding me of the importance of "place" as you call it. ALl those little details we take for granted today will be important tomorrow. Thanks for sharing.

Priceless! I so love this and you were blessed with time to get your camera no doubt! I so agree with you on capturing life around you & everything the way it was that day, because it changes so quickly! Its awesome how you realize that and cherish it because I have 3 grown children and there were days when I thought they would never be grown! And now they are and I miss all those times, but I have lots of photos like this and now I am making new memories with them and celebrating a new chapter!

I love that your surrounding are real. All too often I see these pictures that are beautiful but don't show real life, the messy part. I don't have enough time to stage real life and I love that you remind me that real is good. In fact it's better than good, it's honest. I want my girls to know that we lived life, it might not have always have been neat and tidy but it was full and it was us.

Love the b&w moment. Care to share your photo EXIF and your B&W conversion process including the tool used.TIA

know those little prayers well. love the photo.

These are the BEST photos ;)

What a great tip!